This invention relates to a new chemical process, more particularly, to a new method for the production of cyclic alkylene carbonates.
In the past, cyclic alkylene carbonates such as ethylene carbonate and propylene carbonate have been made by methods such as the reaction of a glycol with phosgene, the transesterification reaction of a glycol with a dialkyl carbonate, and the addition of CO.sub.2 to an epoxide. Alkylene carbonates have also been made by the reaction of a glycol with carbon monoxide and oxygen although the reported yields have been relatively low.
It is known that an alkyl trichloroacetate reacts with an alcohol in the presence of a weakly basic compound to produce the corresponding dialkyl carbonate and a mole of chloroform, see Praetorius et al., British Patent No. 1,336,787.